State Says Old Dump May be Leaking

GEDDES, N.Y. (AP) _ State officials say they’ve found toxic chemicals at a former industrial dump along an already contaminated lake near the site of the New York State Fair.

Onondaga Lake is already the focus of a proposed $451 million, seven-year cleanup. Now the state has asked the company that would handle the cleanup, Honeywell International Inc., to conduct a larger study of the newly discovered site.

A recent state investigation found contaminated ground water and subsurface soil with benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, and other chemicals.

The Allied Chemical waste beds cover more than 300 acres along the lake’s western shore. Honeywell merged with Allied in 1999.

Some of the contaminated land is being used as a parking lot for the New York State Fair. Onondaga County also plans to build a hiking trail on part of the land.

There’s no immediate risk to the public, said Ken Lynch, the regional director for the Department of Environmental Conservation in Syracuse.

Lynch said it was too soon to know if the land will be listed as a hazardous waste site.

Honeywell has not yet agreed to the state’s earlier request to clean up mercury hot spots from the lake shore and parts of the lake bottom.

The state and Honeywell have been negotiating a legal agreement for a voluntary cleanup since last summer..